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30 years of Honda in Ohio

There was a time when people doubted that a Japanese car company could make high-quality
vehicles in the United States. In the face of this skepticism, an automaker decided to build a
factory on an Ohio farm field. The company was Honda and the product was the 1982 Accord – the
first Japanese car assembled on U.S. soil.

Fred Shannon | Columbus DispatchThere was a time when people doubted that a Japanese car company could make high-quality vehicles in the United States. In the face of this skepticism, an automaker decided to build a factory on an Ohio farm field. The company was Honda and the product was the 1982 Accord – the first Japanese car assembled on U.S. soil.Request to buy this photo

Robin Yocum | Columbus DispatchKiyoshi Kawashima, president of Honda Motor Co., presents a keynote address during the groundbreaking, December 1980, for its first automobile plant in the United State. He said the company planned to be building Accord models at the site by 1983.Request to buy this photo

File photoThe foundation nears completion and the first steel frame is erected at the Honda Automobile Plant near Marysville, June 1981.Request to buy this photo

Tim Revell | Columbus DispatchSteelworker Charlie Derrick lines up a crane on the paint building of the new Honda Plant. Initially, the Accord was the factory’s only product. In the first full year of production, 55,337 units were assembled.Request to buy this photo

File photoThe steel skeleton of the $200 million Honda Motors automobile assembly plant rises steadily in July 1981. Dewey Gibson, of Sunbury, Ohio, is dwarfed by the network of steel as he stands on a beam of the structure.Request to buy this photo

Amy Sancetta | Columbus DispatchA Honda associate touches up a frame moving along the auto assembly line, April 1983.Request to buy this photo

Amy Sancetta | Columbus DispatchTest driving in April 1983. The first Ohio-made Accord came off the line in November 1982.Request to buy this photo

Amy Sancetta | Columbus DispatchKiyoshi Kawashima, President of Honda Motors, tours the Marysville plant in 1983.Request to buy this photo

Chris Russell | Columbus DispatchKen Raymond hand polishes a die that was produced in the Marysville engineering plant. The die was used to mold a side panel for the 1990 Honda Civic.Request to buy this photo

Todd Anello | Columbus DispatchRandy Schoeck performs last inspection of a 2.2 Honda Accord engine before it leaves the plant in February 1991.Request to buy this photo

Fred Shannon | Columbus DispatchThe decision to build cars in Ohio was a daring one for Honda. The company had to dispel the perception among some in the industry that U.S.-made vehicles were lower quality than those made in Europe or Japan.Request to buy this photo

Jonathan Quilter | Columbus DispatchNoemy Crissinger works on the assembly line at Honda Transmission Manufacturing of America in August 2012. Today there are 17 assembly plants in the United States operated by foreign-owned automakers.Request to buy this photo

Jonathan Quilter | Columbus DispatchTeresa Anderson works with the CVT pulleys on the assembly line at Honda Transmission Manufacturing of America, where the company is assembling a continuously variable transmission (CVT) in 2012.Request to buy this photo

Jonathan Quilter | Columbus DispatchHonda employee Justin Rostorfer does a bolt install on the assembly line in 2012. The company has 13,500 workers in the state, which is more than any other automaker.Request to buy this photo